Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. I do own Mamo-cha. . . *The judge
raises a brow, daring her to go on* Umm ::giggles nervously:: Did I say
that? No, I meant I don't own Mamo-chan. Yes that's right. I was confused
before ::smiles innocently:: I also don't own Aphrodite and Morpheus.
*Judge clears his throat* ::Scowls:: And I don't own Motoki!!! Jeez, is
there anything else I don't own??? *Judge nods* Ugh. This is going to take
awhile ::Grimaces:: This procedure sucks.
Once again, thank you all for the reviews!!! ^_^ You guys ROCK!!!
Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!
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Chapter 3: HUH?!
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5 Minutes Earlier . . .
Looking inside the contents of her bag, Aphrodite smirked in satisfaction. Everything that she needed to extract her revenge on Morpheus was there.
As she disappeared in a shimmer of pink hearts, she thought, 'Watch out you little prick, cause here I come!'
Moments later she appeared in the dark, quiet apartment of the slumbering Mamoru Chiba. She waved away the hearts making them pop soundlessly as she did so, then snapped her fingers to grow to her exact height. Next, she tiptoed across the floor heading towards a door that could only be Mamoru's bedroom.
Grinning, she said mentally, 'This is going to be all too simple!'
Turning the knob, she slowly opened the door, and poked her head inside. She immediately caught sight of Morpheus in his normal height, bending over the sleeping figure and chanting his 'let me in' mantra.
Aphrodite rolled her eyes. 'Really! Could he possibly get any lamer?'
When she heard Morpheus quiet down, she then invited herself into the bedroom. Clutching the bag in her hand, she felt excitement and anticipation run through her veins. Aphrodite couldn't wait to see her vengeance comes into play and the sad thing was. . . he wouldn't know it until she decides to tell him what she's done!
Snickering softly, Aphrodite began to approach her unsuspecting victim. She was so eager to start that she didn't notice an object that was cast aside on the floor by its master earlier on, who was too caught up in his own conflicting thoughts at the time to put said object in its proper place.
Aphrodite was caught by surprise when her foot knocked into something, resulting her to lose her balance. She didn't have anything to hold onto, to stop the fall from happening, but even if she did, she would still be too shocked to do anything else but go down like a tree chopped from its roots.
TIIIMMMMMMMBBBEEEEEEEEEEER!!!!!!!!
THUMP!!!
Hitting the floor for the second time that day, she groaned in frustration, but it was cut short when she heard a sharp gasp. She raised her head up from the floor to see Morpheus out of his trance.
'Not good!' she thought panicking. She tried to stand up, though it was no use, making her fall back against the floor with another thump. Curious to see what had gotten her into trouble, she glanced at her feet.
Aphrodite squinted, not believing what she was seeing. 'Shoes?' she blinked, baffled. 'Shoes?!"
She growled low in her throat. 'Some measly shoes will not defeat me! I am Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, for crying out loud!' With that in mind, she tried to stand up once more. She was almost standing in an upright position and nearly crowed in delight when her foot got caught in the sole of the shoe making her tumble against the floor louder than before.
CRASH!!! "OWW! Stupid TOE TRIPPING SHOES!!!!!!!!!!!"
How humiliating! Oh, she hoped none of the gods or goddesses were watching her. She'd be ridiculed for the rest of her immortal life! Aphrodite could see them all now: whispering behind her back, laughing and pointing at her, overall labeling her to be the 'Queen of Shoe Tripping'.
No! Anything but that!!!
A throat was cleared.
And it wasn't her that was the cause of it. . .
Oh, bird doo-doo. She was in for it now!!!
Aphrodite slowly lifted her head to face Morpheus's unblinking stare.
"We have to go. Now." He said. No emotion betrayed his voice, but his charcoal gaze seemed cold. Just looking at them made her insides turn to ice.
Before Aphrodite could do or say anything, Morpheus hauled her up with such force she was sure she was going to tumble back down on the cursed floor all over again.
She didn't.
"OWW!" She winced. "Morpheus! Must you squeeze my arm so hard? That hurts!!!"
Staring straight ahead, pulling her in the direction of the balcony, he replied frostily, "You mean _this_?"
His grip on her arm became tighter.
Aphrodite sucked in a deep breath. Her eyes were wide from pain and shock; her mouth hung open--- emitting nothing.
Finally standing on the balcony, Morpheus immediately released her arm.
Five minutes had passed as they both stood facing each other. The pain on Aphrodite's arm began to slowly ebb away, though not entirely since it now left a throbbing ache in its wake.
'That's going to leave a mark,' she thought, grimacing. The shock of what had occurred was no longer present; however, the shock was replaced with something else. . .
"You baka!"
SMACK!
"How could you???"
WHACK!
"You marred my perfect skin!!!!!"
KICK!
"You ARE _sooooooooooooo_ FIRED!"
Not affected by her measly attempts of torture, Morpheus spoke as if nothing had occurred. "Do you realize what you have done?"
She tilted her head to one side, pretending to think. "Besides firing your sorry puny butt? Mmmmm. . . . . . Nope!"
Still there wasn't any emotion present on his face, but anyone could hear his teeth scraping against each other.
Aphrodite cringed. 'Jeez! It's worse than someone trailing his or her nails against a blackboard; it sounds like he's got a chainsaw stacked in there!!!'
"You have just ruined the man's mind for Zeus's sake!!!"
"HUH?!"
"Oh, _real_ intelligent Aphro!" Morpheus drawled sarcastically.
Her eyes flared. Aphro? APHRO??? And she thought having him call her Sweets was annoying? "Argh! Don't you dare call me that!" she yelled. "And what do you _mean_ I've ruined his _mind_???"
Before Morpheus could elaborate, the doors to the balcony opened, revealing a disheveled Mamoru.
"Uh oh," whispered Aphrodite, "we're in for it now."
Mamoru stared at them in scrutiny. It made Aphrodite nervous, she hated the silence that permeated the air and wished for it to stop. There was only one thing she could do. . . "Umm, hi! Nice night for a walk isn't it?" She winced. She could have smacked herself in the face at her pitiful attempt to break the silence.
Then, unexpectedly, a goofy grin appeared on Mamoru's face.
'Huh.' She smirked. 'I always knew I was too beautiful for my own good.'
"USAKO! My love you're here!!!! Now I can prove to you how much I love you!"
She gaped in disbelief. 'Ack! On second thought. . .'
Mamoru enveloped her in his arms for a bone-crushing hug, almost making her eyes pop out of her sockets.
The Goddess of Love's ivory skin turned to a lovely shade of blue. "Can't. . . *gasp* . . . breath. . . *gasp* . . . A little. . . *gasp* . . . help here!"
Morpheus just shook his head sighing, a big sweat drop appearing. "Tokyo. . . we have a problem."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the Tsukino residence. . .
Usagi was having one of her favorite dreams. She was standing in front of a wall that was covered with a variety of lollipops.
"99 flavors of lollies on the wall, 99 flavors of lollies," Usagi sang, while reaching toward one of the candy. "Take one down, lick it till it's gone. . . 98 flavors of lollies on the wall."
Holding a pink lollipop, she closed her eyes in bliss. 'Ahhh, now why can't life be like this?' Her lips parted; ready to welcome that small piece of Heaven. . .
"Aaarrrgggggh! In coooommmmiiiinnggg!!!!"
Tongue paused in mid-air Usagi muttered an incoherent sentence. "Whug wah tha?"
"Is that even a well known language? Never mind. I always knew you were from another planet Odango Atama."
"Did it just say. . . ?
She opened her eyes, not to see just a big, round pink lollipop, but to see Mamoru-baka's face on it as well.
Startled, she shrieked and dropped Mamoru the Lollipop on the floor. Being thrown so carelessly, a crack appeared on the pink shiny surface. Mamoru frowned in irritation. "Now, look what you did! Must you be so clumsy? But then again, I shouldn't have expected any advanced improvements coming from _you_ Odango Atama."
She glared down at him. "Baka! What do you think you're doing in my dream?"
He smirked. "You're going mad remember?"
Usagi glared harder. If looks could kill. . . Mamoru the Lollipop would have been melted by now. "I'm seeking professional help starting Monday. Soon I'll be free from the cuckoo's nest in no time."
He laughed mockingly. "Since when have you not been cuckoo? Face it, Odango Atama, you're just one big nut case!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
Losing her temper, Usagi ran and jumped on top of Mamoru the Lollipop. With every jump, she yelled, "AM NOT. AM NOT. AM NOT!" When she stopped, she felt much better letting her anger out on him. It was very therapeutic. 'That's such an Ami thing to say,' she thought, making a face. Glancing down at the floor, she saw the destruction she caused: Mamoru was shattered into tiny little pieces.
A broad smile made its way on her face. 'He's gone.'
'Now where was I? Oh yeah. I've got 98 more lollies to go.'
Walking up to the wall once more, she was about to open her mouth and sing when. . .
"Hellllllo Odango Atama," said all 98 Mamoru the Lollipops at once, "you didn't think you've gotten rid of me that easily have you?"
She went utterly still. She didn't even have the strength to move a mere muscle.
"You've got one sick, twisted mind you know that?" They grimaced. "I mean who knew that you wanted to do devilish things with that tongue of yours--- to me? Ugh."
"NOOOOO!" She screamed. "I'm not listening to this!"
They smirked. "You want me Usagi!"
"I want to wake up now!!!"
"And that includes tasting---"
"Help? Anyone?!?!?"
". . . groping . . ."
"This isn't FUNNY!"
". . . delving into the unknown--- if you get my drift . . ."
She gasped and clamped her hands over her ears. "Stop it. Stop it. STOP IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
~@~@~@~
She woke up and instantly sat up in her bed breathing heavily.
"It was only a dream," she muttered over and over again.
"Usagi? Are you alright?"
Usagi smiled in relief. She was glad to have Luna with her. Even though most of the time her cat can be a royal pain in the butt. "I'm fine Luna, it was---" By this time she turned her head, seeking the comfort on her guardian's concerned face.
"A dream, Odango Atama?" purred Mamoru. This time he wasn't on the face of a lollipop but now he took over the face of her cat as well.
Usagi did what anyone in her position would do.
She screamed.
***Back in the real world***
Luna gazed down at her charge, who was tossing and turning in her sleep-- - apparently she was having a nightmare. Luna's brow creased in worry and concern. What was wrong with the girl? Granted, she has always been known to be strange, yet recently she was acting stranger than usual. Now that she thought about it, even her mother has been casting worried glances at her daughter all day. What could possibly be the matter?
Luna was caught off guard when Usagi, who had suddenly woken up from screaming, threw her off the bed.
"MEEEEEOOOOOOW!" THWACK! Luna slid down from Usagi's door, tail twitching as she reached the floor.
Beyond Usagi's room, doors could be heard opening and closing, then Usagi's door was thrown open with a bang, revealing three exhausted individuals.
SQUISH!!! "MEOW OW OW!"
Kenji's head swiveled in all directions. "Honey? What was that???!!!"
Ikuko yawned; too muddled from drowsiness to find out where the odd sound came from. "I don't know Dear. Usagi are you alright? What happened? We heard screaming." Even though she was still half-asleep, concern seeped through her voice.
Still panting, Usagi's head made its way toward them. Her eyes squinted; she slowly got out of bed. "Who are you?" she asked suspiciously.
That sobered up her family quick.
Shingo crossed his arms over his chest. "I knew this day would come. Whatever was left in that head called a brain finally called it quits." He smirked, feeling smug. "How many times have you bashed your head again?"
Shingo's smirk wavered when his sister gave him her undivided attention. And it was not the type of attention he craved right now. Her light blue eyes looked crazed and downright scary. He gulped and broke out in a sweat.
Usagi began to make her way towards him.
"Not th-that is a ba-bad th-thing," he stammered, backing away with his hands up.
She got closer.
Swallowing audibly, Shingo looked both ways, since he somehow ended up being between his parents, was hoping that they would come to his defense.
They didn't even make a peep (AN: PEEP! ::author's eyes widen:: Whoops! Uh, I mean ::clears throat and starts to look around:: Who said that???); they were too busy staring at their daughter, both wondering if she was the same innocent, sweet, and carefree girl they all knew.
Losing his nerve, Shingo made a run for it.
"HA! I knew it!" Usagi crowed in triumph. "You won't fool me this time Chiba!" And she chased right after him.
Kenji and Ikuko watched them go.
"Honey. . . what just happened?" Kenji asked warily.
They both looked at each other. Simultaneously, their eyes widened as what had just occurred began to sink in. "We better go after them!" They shouted at once. Then they were gone.
Meanwhile. . . something black and furry was desperately trying to make an attempt to move toward Usagi's desk. There a pink communicator lay on top of it.
"Must. . ."
A paw was thrown forward.
". . . get . . ."
Claws sprung out.
". . . the . . ."
Pull.
Took a breather, then started the process all over again.
". . . Senshi . . ."
The other paw was thrown forward.
Claws sprung out.
Pull.
Luna stops. She looks at the distance she's covered and growls in frustration.
Pathetic! She hadn't even passed the damn door.
"This is going to take awhile," she said, disgust audible in her voice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mamoru's apartment. . .
It had taken some time to get Mamoru off of Aphrodite, but it took all of Morpheus's willpower to do so. Mamoru was now struggling to get free. Morpheus's arms were straining to hold onto him--- he didn't know how much longer he could restrain the wild man.
"Aphrodite!" he snapped. "Don't just stand there! Go find something to tie him up with!"
That seemed to have snapped her out of her stupor. "Did you just call me by my real name?" she asked, amazed.
Morpheus's lips curled. "Is that all you can think about??? You do realize that this man thinks your Usagi and wants more than anything to grope you."
Aphrodite flushed in embarrassment, remembering how his hands wandered over her behind as he hugged her. Gulping, she made eye contact with Mamoru who grinned roguishly and winked at her.
"I'll go find some rope!" she squeaked. She then ran towards Mamoru's bedroom, praying that she would find something of good use to tie him up with, before Mamoru could get loose. He looked more than willing to get back to their original position.
Huffing and puffing from exertion, Morpheus bellowed, "Hurry up! I don't know how much longer I can hold onto him!!!"
Aware of the fact that she was running out of time, made her even more nervous. She desperately rummaged through the closet and chest drawers. There was nothing but the basic necessities.
Panic was bubbling within, ready to consume her.
"Aphrodite?" There was a note of alarm in Morpheus's voice.
"Give me one more minute!!!" She yelled back. She chewed on her nails, a nasty habit, she knew but right now she was entitled to it. There's a man in the next room who wants to. . . to. . . ACK! She didn't want to think about it! 'Keep on moving! There has to be something here!' Aphrodite's eyes lighten up, as an idea struck like a bolt of lightning.
She was sure that he would have some. Heck, she never knew a human being to not own them. She exited out of the bedroom and headed towards Mamoru's desk. Opening a drawer, she spotted what she was looking for. "Ah ha!" She grabbed a few of the items and went back out the balcony.
"I found it!" She said in an excited rush.
Morpheus was relieved. "You found some rope?"
Aphrodite shook her head. "Nope! Even better!" Her fist unfurled, revealing the items she had clutched in her hand.
Morpheus couldn't believe his eyes. "You're joking. . . right?" he asked, unsure if she was being serious or trying to mess with his mind.
With a huge grin on her face, she replied, "No!!! Aren't I a genius???"
Glancing down at her hand, he said, "Err, yeah," He paused, "but. . . rubber bands?"
Starting to feel defensive, she narrowed her eyes and retorted, "You have a problem with that?"
Morpheus cleared his throat. "Oh, no. Rubber bands are just fine," he said, hoping those words would appease her.
It did.
Now that her ego was no longer threatened, she smiled, happy that she came up with something waaaaaay better than Morpheus's suggestion to get some plain, ordinary rope. She stretched her hand out to him, signaling for him to take it.
He sighed. It amazed him how much patience he had. "If you hadn't noticed Sweets, my hands are full. You're going to have to tie him up."
"ME???" Aphrodite couldn't suppress her shock next she pouted. "Aww. . . do I have to?"
Mamoru looked delighted. "My Usako getting a little kinky now?" His grin widened. "Don't worry. I won't bite. . . much."
Aphrodite glared. "For the millionth time. . ." She took a deep breath. "I'M NOT USAKO!!!"
Mamoru smirked, eyes feral. "So you say. . ."
"Hmmph." Not willing to say anything more, she went around Mamoru's back. When Morpheus lifted Mamoru's wrists, she quickly wrapped the rubber bands around them. "Now that we've got that part done and over with, we can sic him on the _real_ Usagi!"
"Sweets, this is serious. We can't just sic him at Usagi as if he were a dog! He's not stable."
Aphrodite put her hands on her hips. "Do you have any other bright ideas?"
Morpheus pondered at the question. He really didn't have a clue on what to do next. He didn't have any experience when it comes to the situation he and Sweets were in now. There had to be a way to get Mamoru back to the way he was before. There just had to be! Mamoru's dream resurfaced again in his mind. He remembered how desperate Mamoru was for Usagi's affection, love, and approval of him. What if Mamoru still thought he was in that dream? It was a possibility.
Morpheus sighed, having made up his mind. He didn't like what he was about to do--- but he had no other choice. They had to try it and hope for the best that it will work.
"Come on," Morpheus said, his grip was still on Mamoru's arm.
Aphrodite stared at him, confused. "Where are we going?"
Face calm and emotionless, he declared, "To give Usagi Tsukino a surprise visit!"
As they disappeared, Aphrodite said, "I knew you'd see it my way!!!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Halleeeeheeeeeeluuuuuuuuuujaaaaah!!!
Luna's eyes were shining and she wept for joy. She finally made her way to the communicator!
"Praise Selene!" Not able to control herself she bawled her eyes out, huge droplets of tears spraying everywhere. After a moment, she stopped, horrified. "Kami-sama! I'm getting as bad as Usagi!"
After a couple of sniffs, she got her act together before she faced the Senshi. Tired from the long journey she had to endure, she used her nose to push the buttons to contact them. 'I must not show any weakness,' she thought. She was thoroughly humiliated. Not only was she thrown across the room like some stuffed animal but flattened by a door as well! No one can ever know! Especially Artemis. Oh he would have a field day with that one!!!
She was cut off from her musings as four familiar, exhausted faces appeared on the screen. The first to speak was the blue-haired Senshi: "Is there another youma attack?"
Luna shook her head. "No Ami, it's much worse than that. It's Usagi. I need all of you to go find her."
Minako was worried. "Was she kidnapped by the Negaverse?"
Luna sweat dropped. How was she going to explain it to them? She didn't even know what was going on with Usagi either! "Ummm, no," Sternly she commanded, "there's no time to explain! You must find her! Now go!"
"Right!" They said in unison and the screen went blank.
Luna sighed, satisfied that she had accomplished her task and decided that she deserved a well-earned catnap.
As her eyes slowly drifted shut, she wondered if everything would go back to normal once she wakes up. She hoped so. If it didn't, there was no telling what would happen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three forms appeared in Usagi's room, right after the black feline fell into a deep sleep.
When Morpheus's smoke dissolved and they got over their fits from coughing, Aphrodite glared at him. "Couldn't you replace the smoke for something else??? It's really annoying."
Eyes still watery, Morpheus quietly replied, "This is my fault? I didn't ask for this!" Before Aphrodite could say anymore and start an argument, he changed the subject. "I guess the girl isn't here."
Aphrodite looked around, seeing the room was empty, save a black cat that can talk. Oh, she knew all about it, since she had spied on Mamoru and Usagi for sometime, before going to Morpheus for help.
"I guess we'll have to come back later," Morpheus commented.
Aphrodite stared at him as if he were nuts. "I don't think so! We're leaving him right here! Let Usagi take over. My plan was to play matchmaker- -- not baby-sit!!! It's up to Usagi to help him now." She crossed her arms stubbornly.
"Aphrodite. . ." he said drawing out her name in a tone that indicated he was displeased.
"Morpheus. . ." she mimicked.
They unknowingly challenged each other with their eyes in a contest to see who would back down first. Aphrodite was resolute in her decision; there was no way she was backing down!
As predicted, Morpheus backed down, letting Aphrodite be the victor in their little match. 'Funny how she is always the one to get her way. . . no wonder she's such a spoiled brat!'
She smirked. "I knew you'd see it my way," she said, rubbing it in.
He hated it when she said that.
Shaking his head and sighing, he asked, "Where are we going to put him?"
Placing a finger to her chin, she thought deeply for a minute when her face brightened. "Let's tie him up on her bed!" she said wickedly.
Morpheus cocked a brow. "Right. And what if her cat wakes up?" He jerked his head in the feline's direction, also aware that the cat can talk and that she was very protective of her master.
Aphrodite waved her hand airily. "No problem." She snapped her fingers. The black cat was there for a moment, until a pink light carried her away.
Morpheus couldn't help it, a sly smile made its way to his face. "What did you do with her?"
A mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. "Don't worry. I made sure she's at a place to make her feel quite at home," she added, "who knows? I'm sure she'll have a blast getting reacquainted with her surroundings."
Morpheus and Aphrodite then proceeded to tie Mamoru up on the bed. Morpheus took off the rubber bands off of Mamoru's wrists. Luckily, Mamoru was sleeping. It was probably from lack of sleep. Either way, Morpheus didn't particularly care to know why--- just as long it gave them time to tie him up.
Laying him down on Usagi's bed, he asked, "What are we going to tie him up with now? Rubber bands won't work. All he has to do is yank on them a couple of times and then he'll be free."
Aphrodite didn't answer. She lifted one of Mamoru's wrists and concentrated. A bright light flashed for a split second. When it dimmed, a pink metal encircled his wrist along with a chain of hearts that were created until another round metal was forged. She cuffed him to one of the bed posts. She proceeded to do the same with his other wrist.
Morpheus gawked at her. "Why didn't do you do that back at Mamoru's home?"
"I," she shrugged sheepishly, "I forgot."
When he still stood with the same expression on his face, Aphrodite said in exasperation, "I got scared, ok?!?!? And you were rushing me--- it's not my fault!!!"
"Okay, okay," he halted briefly, before continuing, "How do you know how to do that?" Referring to the cuffs she was able to make.
Her irritated expression melted away, she gave him a playful wink. "I am the Goddess of Love after all."
Since their work was now done, they vanished, leaving Usagi and Mamoru (not that he would be of much help to anyone) to solve the problem that the god and goddess had made a muck of.
Kami-sama only knew that Usagi and Mamoru were going to need all the help they could get.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Phew!!! That has got to be the longest chapter yet! I know you guys were hoping for more scenes between Usagi and Mamoru. Believe me there is going to be plenty of that in the next chapter and the chapter after that. But I needed to do this to get the ball rolling, so to speak. And don't worry about Aphrodite and Morpheus hogging anymore scenes. You won't hear of them again until the last chapter, well. . .maybe you won't ever hear of them again, lol. I don't know since I'm just as clueless as you guys are on what is going to happen next; though, I do have a vague idea ^_~ Not that I'm telling, lol.
Even though I didn't satisfy your appetite with some Usagi/Mamoru interaction, I hoped that you at least enjoyed reading this chappy.
Oh! And before I forget. Morpheus's line--- "Tokyo. . . we have a problem." Not mine, which I'm sure you guys already know. I just replaced Houston with Tokyo. It's from that movie, Apollo 13. K, now that's out of the way. That's pretty much all I have to say!!!
=p See ya!!!!!!!!!!!!
Once again, thank you all for the reviews!!! ^_^ You guys ROCK!!!
Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!
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Chapter 3: HUH?!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5 Minutes Earlier . . .
Looking inside the contents of her bag, Aphrodite smirked in satisfaction. Everything that she needed to extract her revenge on Morpheus was there.
As she disappeared in a shimmer of pink hearts, she thought, 'Watch out you little prick, cause here I come!'
Moments later she appeared in the dark, quiet apartment of the slumbering Mamoru Chiba. She waved away the hearts making them pop soundlessly as she did so, then snapped her fingers to grow to her exact height. Next, she tiptoed across the floor heading towards a door that could only be Mamoru's bedroom.
Grinning, she said mentally, 'This is going to be all too simple!'
Turning the knob, she slowly opened the door, and poked her head inside. She immediately caught sight of Morpheus in his normal height, bending over the sleeping figure and chanting his 'let me in' mantra.
Aphrodite rolled her eyes. 'Really! Could he possibly get any lamer?'
When she heard Morpheus quiet down, she then invited herself into the bedroom. Clutching the bag in her hand, she felt excitement and anticipation run through her veins. Aphrodite couldn't wait to see her vengeance comes into play and the sad thing was. . . he wouldn't know it until she decides to tell him what she's done!
Snickering softly, Aphrodite began to approach her unsuspecting victim. She was so eager to start that she didn't notice an object that was cast aside on the floor by its master earlier on, who was too caught up in his own conflicting thoughts at the time to put said object in its proper place.
Aphrodite was caught by surprise when her foot knocked into something, resulting her to lose her balance. She didn't have anything to hold onto, to stop the fall from happening, but even if she did, she would still be too shocked to do anything else but go down like a tree chopped from its roots.
TIIIMMMMMMMBBBEEEEEEEEEEER!!!!!!!!
THUMP!!!
Hitting the floor for the second time that day, she groaned in frustration, but it was cut short when she heard a sharp gasp. She raised her head up from the floor to see Morpheus out of his trance.
'Not good!' she thought panicking. She tried to stand up, though it was no use, making her fall back against the floor with another thump. Curious to see what had gotten her into trouble, she glanced at her feet.
Aphrodite squinted, not believing what she was seeing. 'Shoes?' she blinked, baffled. 'Shoes?!"
She growled low in her throat. 'Some measly shoes will not defeat me! I am Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, for crying out loud!' With that in mind, she tried to stand up once more. She was almost standing in an upright position and nearly crowed in delight when her foot got caught in the sole of the shoe making her tumble against the floor louder than before.
CRASH!!! "OWW! Stupid TOE TRIPPING SHOES!!!!!!!!!!!"
How humiliating! Oh, she hoped none of the gods or goddesses were watching her. She'd be ridiculed for the rest of her immortal life! Aphrodite could see them all now: whispering behind her back, laughing and pointing at her, overall labeling her to be the 'Queen of Shoe Tripping'.
No! Anything but that!!!
A throat was cleared.
And it wasn't her that was the cause of it. . .
Oh, bird doo-doo. She was in for it now!!!
Aphrodite slowly lifted her head to face Morpheus's unblinking stare.
"We have to go. Now." He said. No emotion betrayed his voice, but his charcoal gaze seemed cold. Just looking at them made her insides turn to ice.
Before Aphrodite could do or say anything, Morpheus hauled her up with such force she was sure she was going to tumble back down on the cursed floor all over again.
She didn't.
"OWW!" She winced. "Morpheus! Must you squeeze my arm so hard? That hurts!!!"
Staring straight ahead, pulling her in the direction of the balcony, he replied frostily, "You mean _this_?"
His grip on her arm became tighter.
Aphrodite sucked in a deep breath. Her eyes were wide from pain and shock; her mouth hung open--- emitting nothing.
Finally standing on the balcony, Morpheus immediately released her arm.
Five minutes had passed as they both stood facing each other. The pain on Aphrodite's arm began to slowly ebb away, though not entirely since it now left a throbbing ache in its wake.
'That's going to leave a mark,' she thought, grimacing. The shock of what had occurred was no longer present; however, the shock was replaced with something else. . .
"You baka!"
SMACK!
"How could you???"
WHACK!
"You marred my perfect skin!!!!!"
KICK!
"You ARE _sooooooooooooo_ FIRED!"
Not affected by her measly attempts of torture, Morpheus spoke as if nothing had occurred. "Do you realize what you have done?"
She tilted her head to one side, pretending to think. "Besides firing your sorry puny butt? Mmmmm. . . . . . Nope!"
Still there wasn't any emotion present on his face, but anyone could hear his teeth scraping against each other.
Aphrodite cringed. 'Jeez! It's worse than someone trailing his or her nails against a blackboard; it sounds like he's got a chainsaw stacked in there!!!'
"You have just ruined the man's mind for Zeus's sake!!!"
"HUH?!"
"Oh, _real_ intelligent Aphro!" Morpheus drawled sarcastically.
Her eyes flared. Aphro? APHRO??? And she thought having him call her Sweets was annoying? "Argh! Don't you dare call me that!" she yelled. "And what do you _mean_ I've ruined his _mind_???"
Before Morpheus could elaborate, the doors to the balcony opened, revealing a disheveled Mamoru.
"Uh oh," whispered Aphrodite, "we're in for it now."
Mamoru stared at them in scrutiny. It made Aphrodite nervous, she hated the silence that permeated the air and wished for it to stop. There was only one thing she could do. . . "Umm, hi! Nice night for a walk isn't it?" She winced. She could have smacked herself in the face at her pitiful attempt to break the silence.
Then, unexpectedly, a goofy grin appeared on Mamoru's face.
'Huh.' She smirked. 'I always knew I was too beautiful for my own good.'
"USAKO! My love you're here!!!! Now I can prove to you how much I love you!"
She gaped in disbelief. 'Ack! On second thought. . .'
Mamoru enveloped her in his arms for a bone-crushing hug, almost making her eyes pop out of her sockets.
The Goddess of Love's ivory skin turned to a lovely shade of blue. "Can't. . . *gasp* . . . breath. . . *gasp* . . . A little. . . *gasp* . . . help here!"
Morpheus just shook his head sighing, a big sweat drop appearing. "Tokyo. . . we have a problem."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the Tsukino residence. . .
Usagi was having one of her favorite dreams. She was standing in front of a wall that was covered with a variety of lollipops.
"99 flavors of lollies on the wall, 99 flavors of lollies," Usagi sang, while reaching toward one of the candy. "Take one down, lick it till it's gone. . . 98 flavors of lollies on the wall."
Holding a pink lollipop, she closed her eyes in bliss. 'Ahhh, now why can't life be like this?' Her lips parted; ready to welcome that small piece of Heaven. . .
"Aaarrrgggggh! In coooommmmiiiinnggg!!!!"
Tongue paused in mid-air Usagi muttered an incoherent sentence. "Whug wah tha?"
"Is that even a well known language? Never mind. I always knew you were from another planet Odango Atama."
"Did it just say. . . ?
She opened her eyes, not to see just a big, round pink lollipop, but to see Mamoru-baka's face on it as well.
Startled, she shrieked and dropped Mamoru the Lollipop on the floor. Being thrown so carelessly, a crack appeared on the pink shiny surface. Mamoru frowned in irritation. "Now, look what you did! Must you be so clumsy? But then again, I shouldn't have expected any advanced improvements coming from _you_ Odango Atama."
She glared down at him. "Baka! What do you think you're doing in my dream?"
He smirked. "You're going mad remember?"
Usagi glared harder. If looks could kill. . . Mamoru the Lollipop would have been melted by now. "I'm seeking professional help starting Monday. Soon I'll be free from the cuckoo's nest in no time."
He laughed mockingly. "Since when have you not been cuckoo? Face it, Odango Atama, you're just one big nut case!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
Losing her temper, Usagi ran and jumped on top of Mamoru the Lollipop. With every jump, she yelled, "AM NOT. AM NOT. AM NOT!" When she stopped, she felt much better letting her anger out on him. It was very therapeutic. 'That's such an Ami thing to say,' she thought, making a face. Glancing down at the floor, she saw the destruction she caused: Mamoru was shattered into tiny little pieces.
A broad smile made its way on her face. 'He's gone.'
'Now where was I? Oh yeah. I've got 98 more lollies to go.'
Walking up to the wall once more, she was about to open her mouth and sing when. . .
"Hellllllo Odango Atama," said all 98 Mamoru the Lollipops at once, "you didn't think you've gotten rid of me that easily have you?"
She went utterly still. She didn't even have the strength to move a mere muscle.
"You've got one sick, twisted mind you know that?" They grimaced. "I mean who knew that you wanted to do devilish things with that tongue of yours--- to me? Ugh."
"NOOOOO!" She screamed. "I'm not listening to this!"
They smirked. "You want me Usagi!"
"I want to wake up now!!!"
"And that includes tasting---"
"Help? Anyone?!?!?"
". . . groping . . ."
"This isn't FUNNY!"
". . . delving into the unknown--- if you get my drift . . ."
She gasped and clamped her hands over her ears. "Stop it. Stop it. STOP IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
~@~@~@~
She woke up and instantly sat up in her bed breathing heavily.
"It was only a dream," she muttered over and over again.
"Usagi? Are you alright?"
Usagi smiled in relief. She was glad to have Luna with her. Even though most of the time her cat can be a royal pain in the butt. "I'm fine Luna, it was---" By this time she turned her head, seeking the comfort on her guardian's concerned face.
"A dream, Odango Atama?" purred Mamoru. This time he wasn't on the face of a lollipop but now he took over the face of her cat as well.
Usagi did what anyone in her position would do.
She screamed.
***Back in the real world***
Luna gazed down at her charge, who was tossing and turning in her sleep-- - apparently she was having a nightmare. Luna's brow creased in worry and concern. What was wrong with the girl? Granted, she has always been known to be strange, yet recently she was acting stranger than usual. Now that she thought about it, even her mother has been casting worried glances at her daughter all day. What could possibly be the matter?
Luna was caught off guard when Usagi, who had suddenly woken up from screaming, threw her off the bed.
"MEEEEEOOOOOOW!" THWACK! Luna slid down from Usagi's door, tail twitching as she reached the floor.
Beyond Usagi's room, doors could be heard opening and closing, then Usagi's door was thrown open with a bang, revealing three exhausted individuals.
SQUISH!!! "MEOW OW OW!"
Kenji's head swiveled in all directions. "Honey? What was that???!!!"
Ikuko yawned; too muddled from drowsiness to find out where the odd sound came from. "I don't know Dear. Usagi are you alright? What happened? We heard screaming." Even though she was still half-asleep, concern seeped through her voice.
Still panting, Usagi's head made its way toward them. Her eyes squinted; she slowly got out of bed. "Who are you?" she asked suspiciously.
That sobered up her family quick.
Shingo crossed his arms over his chest. "I knew this day would come. Whatever was left in that head called a brain finally called it quits." He smirked, feeling smug. "How many times have you bashed your head again?"
Shingo's smirk wavered when his sister gave him her undivided attention. And it was not the type of attention he craved right now. Her light blue eyes looked crazed and downright scary. He gulped and broke out in a sweat.
Usagi began to make her way towards him.
"Not th-that is a ba-bad th-thing," he stammered, backing away with his hands up.
She got closer.
Swallowing audibly, Shingo looked both ways, since he somehow ended up being between his parents, was hoping that they would come to his defense.
They didn't even make a peep (AN: PEEP! ::author's eyes widen:: Whoops! Uh, I mean ::clears throat and starts to look around:: Who said that???); they were too busy staring at their daughter, both wondering if she was the same innocent, sweet, and carefree girl they all knew.
Losing his nerve, Shingo made a run for it.
"HA! I knew it!" Usagi crowed in triumph. "You won't fool me this time Chiba!" And she chased right after him.
Kenji and Ikuko watched them go.
"Honey. . . what just happened?" Kenji asked warily.
They both looked at each other. Simultaneously, their eyes widened as what had just occurred began to sink in. "We better go after them!" They shouted at once. Then they were gone.
Meanwhile. . . something black and furry was desperately trying to make an attempt to move toward Usagi's desk. There a pink communicator lay on top of it.
"Must. . ."
A paw was thrown forward.
". . . get . . ."
Claws sprung out.
". . . the . . ."
Pull.
Took a breather, then started the process all over again.
". . . Senshi . . ."
The other paw was thrown forward.
Claws sprung out.
Pull.
Luna stops. She looks at the distance she's covered and growls in frustration.
Pathetic! She hadn't even passed the damn door.
"This is going to take awhile," she said, disgust audible in her voice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mamoru's apartment. . .
It had taken some time to get Mamoru off of Aphrodite, but it took all of Morpheus's willpower to do so. Mamoru was now struggling to get free. Morpheus's arms were straining to hold onto him--- he didn't know how much longer he could restrain the wild man.
"Aphrodite!" he snapped. "Don't just stand there! Go find something to tie him up with!"
That seemed to have snapped her out of her stupor. "Did you just call me by my real name?" she asked, amazed.
Morpheus's lips curled. "Is that all you can think about??? You do realize that this man thinks your Usagi and wants more than anything to grope you."
Aphrodite flushed in embarrassment, remembering how his hands wandered over her behind as he hugged her. Gulping, she made eye contact with Mamoru who grinned roguishly and winked at her.
"I'll go find some rope!" she squeaked. She then ran towards Mamoru's bedroom, praying that she would find something of good use to tie him up with, before Mamoru could get loose. He looked more than willing to get back to their original position.
Huffing and puffing from exertion, Morpheus bellowed, "Hurry up! I don't know how much longer I can hold onto him!!!"
Aware of the fact that she was running out of time, made her even more nervous. She desperately rummaged through the closet and chest drawers. There was nothing but the basic necessities.
Panic was bubbling within, ready to consume her.
"Aphrodite?" There was a note of alarm in Morpheus's voice.
"Give me one more minute!!!" She yelled back. She chewed on her nails, a nasty habit, she knew but right now she was entitled to it. There's a man in the next room who wants to. . . to. . . ACK! She didn't want to think about it! 'Keep on moving! There has to be something here!' Aphrodite's eyes lighten up, as an idea struck like a bolt of lightning.
She was sure that he would have some. Heck, she never knew a human being to not own them. She exited out of the bedroom and headed towards Mamoru's desk. Opening a drawer, she spotted what she was looking for. "Ah ha!" She grabbed a few of the items and went back out the balcony.
"I found it!" She said in an excited rush.
Morpheus was relieved. "You found some rope?"
Aphrodite shook her head. "Nope! Even better!" Her fist unfurled, revealing the items she had clutched in her hand.
Morpheus couldn't believe his eyes. "You're joking. . . right?" he asked, unsure if she was being serious or trying to mess with his mind.
With a huge grin on her face, she replied, "No!!! Aren't I a genius???"
Glancing down at her hand, he said, "Err, yeah," He paused, "but. . . rubber bands?"
Starting to feel defensive, she narrowed her eyes and retorted, "You have a problem with that?"
Morpheus cleared his throat. "Oh, no. Rubber bands are just fine," he said, hoping those words would appease her.
It did.
Now that her ego was no longer threatened, she smiled, happy that she came up with something waaaaaay better than Morpheus's suggestion to get some plain, ordinary rope. She stretched her hand out to him, signaling for him to take it.
He sighed. It amazed him how much patience he had. "If you hadn't noticed Sweets, my hands are full. You're going to have to tie him up."
"ME???" Aphrodite couldn't suppress her shock next she pouted. "Aww. . . do I have to?"
Mamoru looked delighted. "My Usako getting a little kinky now?" His grin widened. "Don't worry. I won't bite. . . much."
Aphrodite glared. "For the millionth time. . ." She took a deep breath. "I'M NOT USAKO!!!"
Mamoru smirked, eyes feral. "So you say. . ."
"Hmmph." Not willing to say anything more, she went around Mamoru's back. When Morpheus lifted Mamoru's wrists, she quickly wrapped the rubber bands around them. "Now that we've got that part done and over with, we can sic him on the _real_ Usagi!"
"Sweets, this is serious. We can't just sic him at Usagi as if he were a dog! He's not stable."
Aphrodite put her hands on her hips. "Do you have any other bright ideas?"
Morpheus pondered at the question. He really didn't have a clue on what to do next. He didn't have any experience when it comes to the situation he and Sweets were in now. There had to be a way to get Mamoru back to the way he was before. There just had to be! Mamoru's dream resurfaced again in his mind. He remembered how desperate Mamoru was for Usagi's affection, love, and approval of him. What if Mamoru still thought he was in that dream? It was a possibility.
Morpheus sighed, having made up his mind. He didn't like what he was about to do--- but he had no other choice. They had to try it and hope for the best that it will work.
"Come on," Morpheus said, his grip was still on Mamoru's arm.
Aphrodite stared at him, confused. "Where are we going?"
Face calm and emotionless, he declared, "To give Usagi Tsukino a surprise visit!"
As they disappeared, Aphrodite said, "I knew you'd see it my way!!!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Halleeeeheeeeeeluuuuuuuuuujaaaaah!!!
Luna's eyes were shining and she wept for joy. She finally made her way to the communicator!
"Praise Selene!" Not able to control herself she bawled her eyes out, huge droplets of tears spraying everywhere. After a moment, she stopped, horrified. "Kami-sama! I'm getting as bad as Usagi!"
After a couple of sniffs, she got her act together before she faced the Senshi. Tired from the long journey she had to endure, she used her nose to push the buttons to contact them. 'I must not show any weakness,' she thought. She was thoroughly humiliated. Not only was she thrown across the room like some stuffed animal but flattened by a door as well! No one can ever know! Especially Artemis. Oh he would have a field day with that one!!!
She was cut off from her musings as four familiar, exhausted faces appeared on the screen. The first to speak was the blue-haired Senshi: "Is there another youma attack?"
Luna shook her head. "No Ami, it's much worse than that. It's Usagi. I need all of you to go find her."
Minako was worried. "Was she kidnapped by the Negaverse?"
Luna sweat dropped. How was she going to explain it to them? She didn't even know what was going on with Usagi either! "Ummm, no," Sternly she commanded, "there's no time to explain! You must find her! Now go!"
"Right!" They said in unison and the screen went blank.
Luna sighed, satisfied that she had accomplished her task and decided that she deserved a well-earned catnap.
As her eyes slowly drifted shut, she wondered if everything would go back to normal once she wakes up. She hoped so. If it didn't, there was no telling what would happen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three forms appeared in Usagi's room, right after the black feline fell into a deep sleep.
When Morpheus's smoke dissolved and they got over their fits from coughing, Aphrodite glared at him. "Couldn't you replace the smoke for something else??? It's really annoying."
Eyes still watery, Morpheus quietly replied, "This is my fault? I didn't ask for this!" Before Aphrodite could say anymore and start an argument, he changed the subject. "I guess the girl isn't here."
Aphrodite looked around, seeing the room was empty, save a black cat that can talk. Oh, she knew all about it, since she had spied on Mamoru and Usagi for sometime, before going to Morpheus for help.
"I guess we'll have to come back later," Morpheus commented.
Aphrodite stared at him as if he were nuts. "I don't think so! We're leaving him right here! Let Usagi take over. My plan was to play matchmaker- -- not baby-sit!!! It's up to Usagi to help him now." She crossed her arms stubbornly.
"Aphrodite. . ." he said drawing out her name in a tone that indicated he was displeased.
"Morpheus. . ." she mimicked.
They unknowingly challenged each other with their eyes in a contest to see who would back down first. Aphrodite was resolute in her decision; there was no way she was backing down!
As predicted, Morpheus backed down, letting Aphrodite be the victor in their little match. 'Funny how she is always the one to get her way. . . no wonder she's such a spoiled brat!'
She smirked. "I knew you'd see it my way," she said, rubbing it in.
He hated it when she said that.
Shaking his head and sighing, he asked, "Where are we going to put him?"
Placing a finger to her chin, she thought deeply for a minute when her face brightened. "Let's tie him up on her bed!" she said wickedly.
Morpheus cocked a brow. "Right. And what if her cat wakes up?" He jerked his head in the feline's direction, also aware that the cat can talk and that she was very protective of her master.
Aphrodite waved her hand airily. "No problem." She snapped her fingers. The black cat was there for a moment, until a pink light carried her away.
Morpheus couldn't help it, a sly smile made its way to his face. "What did you do with her?"
A mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. "Don't worry. I made sure she's at a place to make her feel quite at home," she added, "who knows? I'm sure she'll have a blast getting reacquainted with her surroundings."
Morpheus and Aphrodite then proceeded to tie Mamoru up on the bed. Morpheus took off the rubber bands off of Mamoru's wrists. Luckily, Mamoru was sleeping. It was probably from lack of sleep. Either way, Morpheus didn't particularly care to know why--- just as long it gave them time to tie him up.
Laying him down on Usagi's bed, he asked, "What are we going to tie him up with now? Rubber bands won't work. All he has to do is yank on them a couple of times and then he'll be free."
Aphrodite didn't answer. She lifted one of Mamoru's wrists and concentrated. A bright light flashed for a split second. When it dimmed, a pink metal encircled his wrist along with a chain of hearts that were created until another round metal was forged. She cuffed him to one of the bed posts. She proceeded to do the same with his other wrist.
Morpheus gawked at her. "Why didn't do you do that back at Mamoru's home?"
"I," she shrugged sheepishly, "I forgot."
When he still stood with the same expression on his face, Aphrodite said in exasperation, "I got scared, ok?!?!? And you were rushing me--- it's not my fault!!!"
"Okay, okay," he halted briefly, before continuing, "How do you know how to do that?" Referring to the cuffs she was able to make.
Her irritated expression melted away, she gave him a playful wink. "I am the Goddess of Love after all."
Since their work was now done, they vanished, leaving Usagi and Mamoru (not that he would be of much help to anyone) to solve the problem that the god and goddess had made a muck of.
Kami-sama only knew that Usagi and Mamoru were going to need all the help they could get.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Phew!!! That has got to be the longest chapter yet! I know you guys were hoping for more scenes between Usagi and Mamoru. Believe me there is going to be plenty of that in the next chapter and the chapter after that. But I needed to do this to get the ball rolling, so to speak. And don't worry about Aphrodite and Morpheus hogging anymore scenes. You won't hear of them again until the last chapter, well. . .maybe you won't ever hear of them again, lol. I don't know since I'm just as clueless as you guys are on what is going to happen next; though, I do have a vague idea ^_~ Not that I'm telling, lol.
Even though I didn't satisfy your appetite with some Usagi/Mamoru interaction, I hoped that you at least enjoyed reading this chappy.
Oh! And before I forget. Morpheus's line--- "Tokyo. . . we have a problem." Not mine, which I'm sure you guys already know. I just replaced Houston with Tokyo. It's from that movie, Apollo 13. K, now that's out of the way. That's pretty much all I have to say!!!
=p See ya!!!!!!!!!!!!